A man is demanding 733,000 hryvnias from PrivatBank due to the termination of business relations — the court's decision on the matter.

A man at a PrivatBank branch learned about the termination of his business relationship with the bank. He accuses the bank of violating consumer rights, which has caused harm by preventing him from using banking services and by unjustly transmitting false information regarding him as a person involved in money laundering. Consequently, the citizen is demanding compensation of 733,000 hryvnias. This is stated in the decision of the Korolevsky District Court of Zhytomyr, published on December 12, 2024.

On January 12, 2024, during a discussion with bank employees about increasing his credit limit, the man discovered that the business relationship between him and the bank had been terminated at the bank's initiative. All his bank cards were blocked, and the Privat-24 app ceased to function. The contract was terminated because the requested documents confirming the sources of his funds had not been provided to the bank, based on Article 15 of the Law of Ukraine "On Preventing and Counteracting the Legalization (Laundering) of Proceeds from Crime, Financing Terrorism, and Financing the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction."

From a representative of JSC CB "PrivatBank," the man learned that a request for documents confirming the sources of his funds had been sent to him via the Privat-24 app or email. However, he had not received any requests from JSC CB "PrivatBank" regarding the provision of documents. The prospect of potential investigative actions against him and the possibility of being accused of money laundering or terrorism is overwhelming. Considering this, he asks the court to satisfy his claims and recover 733,000 hryvnias for moral damages from JSC CB "PrivatBank."

"JSC CB 'PrivatBank' determined, based on the available documents and information, that the plaintiff posed an unacceptably high risk, which led to the decision to terminate the business relationship. As a result of the financial operations analysis, the client's activities, and information about the client, JSC CB 'PrivatBank' found the client's activities to be suspicious. According to the notice of termination of business relations/refusal of service through the termination of business relations/contract termination and account closure dated January 13, 2024, the plaintiff was advised to visit the JSC CB 'PrivatBank' branch with a request to transfer the remaining funds," the bank stated.

In response to the review dated February 19, 2024, the man stated that he has never engaged in any gambling business, and thus considers the bank's assumptions to be discriminatory and offensive. He also noted that the bank's violation of consumer rights to quality and proper service has caused harm by preventing him from utilizing banking services and by unjustly transmitting false information about him as a money launderer. Therefore, to rectify this, he requests the court to compel the bank to inform the State Financial Monitoring Service that its report is false, as the bank itself will not do so.

During the court session, the PrivatBank representative stated that the large transactions in the man's account do not correspond to the client's financial status. In response to the court's inquiry, she noted that sending a letter to the client regarding income verification is not a bank's obligation. The bank conducted a review of the client's account and concluded that there was an unacceptably high risk. The nature of the financial transactions in his account suggests that they were made on behalf of and for the accounts of other individuals. This is not typical account activity and could involve actual or potential use of the bank for money laundering.

What did the court decide?

The court denied the man's claim. JSC CB "PrivatBank" terminated its contractual relationship with him through unilateral termination of the banking service agreement, fulfilling its functions as a financial monitoring entity imposed by Ukrainian legislation.

"According to the statement from the plaintiff's card account, it is observed that on September 1, 2023, 78,000 hryvnias were credited to the account, on October 1, 2023, 90,000 hryvnias, on December 20, 2023, 110,180 hryvnias, and on January 10, 2024, 317,218 hryvnias. At the same time, according to the due diligence questionnaire he signed on August 3, 2023, the plaintiff's total monthly income is 35,000 hryvnias. This indicates the validity of the bank's position regarding the establishment of an unacceptably high risk concerning the client," the court emphasized.